An
internal company briefing produced by Google and leaked exclusively to
Breitbart News argues that due to a variety of factors, including the
election of President Trump, the “American tradition” of free speech on
the internet is no longer viable.

Despite
leaked video footage showing top executives declaring their intention to
ensure that the rise of Trump and the populist movement is just a “blip”
in history, Google has repeatedly denied that
the political bias of its employees filter into its products.

But
the 85-page briefing, titled “The Good Censor,” admits that Google and
other tech platforms now “control the majority of online conversations”
and have undertaken a “shift towards censorship” in response to
unwelcome political events around the world.

Examples
cited in the document include the 2016 election and the rise of
Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) in Germany.

Responding
to the leak, an official Google source said the document should be
considered internal research, and not an official company position.

The
briefing labels the ideal of unfettered free speech on the internet a
“utopian narrative” that has been “undermined” by recent global events
as well as “bad behavior” on the part of users. It can be read in full
below.

It
acknowledges that major tech platforms, including Google, Facebook and
Twitter initially promised free speech to consumers. “This free speech
ideal was instilled in the DNA of the Silicon Valley startups that now
control the majority of our online conversations,” says the document.

The
briefing argues that Google, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are caught
between two incompatible positions, the “unmediated marketplace of
ideas” vs. “well-ordered spaces for safety and civility.”

The
first approach is described as a product of the “American tradition”
which “prioritizes free speech for democracy, not civility.” The second
is described as a product of the “European tradition,” which “favors
dignity over liberty and civility over freedom.” The briefing claims
that all tech platforms are now moving toward the European tradition.

The
briefing associates Google’s new role as the guarantor of “civility”
with the categories of “editor” and “publisher.” This is significant,
given that Google, YouTube, and other tech giants publicly claim they
are not publishers but rather neutral platforms — a categorization that
grants them special legal immunities under Section 230 of the
Communications Decency Act. Elsewhere in the document, Google admits
that Section 230 was designed to ensure they can remain neutral
platforms for free expression.

Trump,
Conspiracy Theorist

One
of the reasons Google identifies for allegedly widespread public
disillusionment with internet free speech is that it “breeds conspiracy
theories.” The example Google uses? A 2016 tweet from then-candidate
Donald Trump, alleging that Google search suppressed negative results
about Hillary Clinton.

At
the time, Google said that it suppressed negative autocomplete
suggestions about everybody, not just Clinton. But it was comparatively
easy to find such autocomplete results when searching for Bernie Sanders
or Donald Trump. Independent research from psychologist Dr. Robert
Epstein also shows that
Google search results (if not autocomplete results) did indeed favor
Clinton in 2016.

Twice
in the document, Google juxtaposes a factoid about “Russian
interference” in American elections with pictures of Donald Trump. At
one point, the document admits that tech platforms are changing their
policies to pre-empt congressional action on foreign interference.

The
document did not address the fact that, according to leading
psychologists, the impact of foreign “bots” and propaganda on
social media has a negligible impact on voters.

From
Suggestions to Company Policy

It
is unclear for whom the “Good Censor” was intended. What is clear,
however, is that Google spent (or paid someone to spend) significant
time and effort to produce it.

According
to the briefing itself, it was the product of an extensive process
involving “several layers of research,” including expert interviews with
MIT Tech Review editor-in-chief Jason Pontin, Atlantic staff
writer Franklin Foer, and academic Kalev Leetaru. 35 cultural observers
and 7 cultural leaders from seven countries on five continents were also
consulted to produce it.

What
is also clear is that many of the briefing’s recommendations are now
reflected in the policy of Google and its sibling companies.

For
example, the briefing argues that tech companies will have to censor
their platforms if they want to “expand globally.” Google is now constructing a
censored search engine to gain access to the Chinese market.

The
document also bemoans that the internet allows “have a go commenters”
(in other words, ordinary people) to compete on a level playing field
with “authoritative sources” like the New
York Times. Google-owned YouTube now promotes so-called
“authoritative sources” in its algorithm. The company did not
specifically name which sources it would promote.

Key
points in the briefing can be found at the following page numbers:

P2
– The briefing states that “users are asking if the openness of the
internet should be celebrated after all” and that “free speech has
become a social, economic, and political weapon.”

P11
– The briefing identifies Breitbart News as the media publication most
interested in the topic of free speech.

P12
– The briefing says the early free-speech ideals of the internet were
“utopian.”

P14
– The briefing admits that Google, along with Twitter and Facebook,
now “control the majority of online conversations.”

P15
– Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is linked to Google’s
position as a platform for free expression. Elsewhere in the document
(p68), Google and other platforms’ move towards moderation and
censorship is associated with the role of “publisher” – which would
not be subject to Section 230’s legal protections.

PP19-21
– The briefing identifies several factors that allegedly eroded faith
in free speech. The election of Donald Trump and alleged Russian
involvement is identified as one such factor. The rise of the populist
Alternative fur Deutschland (Alternative for Germany) party in Germany
– which the briefing falsely smears as “alt-right” – is another.

PP26-34
– The briefing explains how “users behaving badly” undermines free
speech on the internet and allows “crummy politicians to expand their
influence.” The briefing bemoans that “racists, misogynists, and
oppressors” are allowed a voice alongside “revolutionaries,
whistleblowers, and campaigners.” It warns that users are “keener to
transgress moral norms” behind the protection of anonymity.

P37
– The briefing acknowledges that China – for which Google has
developed a censored search engine – has the worst track record on
internet freedom.

P45
– After warning about the rise of online hate speech, the briefing
approvingly cites Sarah Jeong, infamous for her hate speech against
white males (Google is currently facing a lawsuit alleging it
discriminates against white males, among other categories).

P45
– The briefing bemoans the fact that the internet has until recently
been a level playing field, warning that “rational debate is damaged
when authoritative voices and ‘have a go’ commentators receive equal
weighting.”

P49
– The document accuses President Trump of spreading the “conspiracy
theory” that Google autocomplete suggestions unfairly favored Hillary
Clinton in 2016. (Trump’s suspicions were actually correct –
independent research has shown that
Google did favor Clinton in 2016).

P53
– Free speech platform Gab is identified as a major destination for
users who are dissatisfied with censorship on other platforms.

P54
– After warning about “harassment” earlier in the document, the
briefing approvingly describes a 27,000-strong left-wing social media
campaign as a “digital flash mob” engaged in “friendly
counter-commenting.”

P57
– The document juxtaposes a factoid about Russian election
interference with a picture of Donald Trump.

P63
– The briefing admits that when Google, GoDaddy and CloudFlare
simultaneously withdrew service from website The Daily Stormer, they
were “effectively booting it off the internet,” a point also made by
the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the FCC in their subsequent
warnings about online censorship.

P66-68
– The briefing argues that Google, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are
caught between two incompatible positions, the “unmediated marketplace
of ideas” vs. “well-ordered spaces for safety and civility.” The first
is described as a product of the “American tradition” which
“prioritizes free speech for democracy, not civility.” The second is
described as a product of the “European tradition,” which “favors
dignity over liberty and civility over freedom.” The briefing claims
that all tech platforms are now moving toward the European tradition.

P70
– The briefing sums up the reasons for big tech’s “shift towards
censorship,” including the need to respond to regulatory demands and
“expand globally,” to “monetize content through its organization,” and
to “protect advertisers from controversial content, [and] increase
revenues.”

P74-76
– The briefing warns that concerns about censorship from major tech
platforms have spread beyond the right-wing media into the mainstream.